Politics and Pollution on the Passaic River

a Passaic River cleanup, Lyndhurst

An article this past weekend by Tom Moran in The Star-Ledger gives a good summary of the complicated history of the pollution and cleanup attempts on the Passaic River.

It is a tale of corporations, environmentalists and politicians. The article opens by saying:

A half-century has passed since workers at Diamond Shamrock were ordered to dump dioxin into the Passaic River in Newark, and then to march out at low tide and knock down the toxic mud piles with rakes so that no one would know.

So began the long history of polluters evading responsibility for the murder of this river, an effort that continues to this day. Workers with rakes have been replaced by consultants and lawyers.

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